Letter: Two reps on right side of minimum wage issue

I write to thank several local representatives for their votes against Speaker Robert DeLeo's bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.50/hour over the next three years. State Reps. Susan Gifford of Wareham and Keiko Orrall of Lakeville showed admirable courage by resisting emotional appeals, weighing the facts, and demonstrating that they understand the package may feel good, but doesn't do good.

I write to thank several local representatives for their votes against Speaker Robert DeLeo’s bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.50/hour over the next three years. State Reps. Susan Gifford of Wareham and Keiko Orrall of Lakeville showed admirable courage by resisting emotional appeals, weighing the facts, and demonstrating that they understand the package may feel good, but doesn’t do good.

At a time when the economy is still sputtering and the commonwealth is dealing with significant fallout from the Health Connector/Obamacare debacle, the last thing our state needs is to raise the cost of doing business here in Massachusetts even further.

The Speaker’s proposed increase to the minimum wage, while less burdensome than what some others have proposed, would still cause many businesses to move or close, and thousands of employees to lose their jobs.

Although their voices did not carry the day, the position taken by Reps. Gifford and Orrall remains commendable.